Global bitcoin price pump planned to celebrate El Salvador adopting crypto as currency

Reddit and Twitter users call for 7 September to be ‘Global Bitcoin Day’

Anthony Cuthbertson
Monday 06 September 2021 10:32 EDT
Comments
Bitcoin will officially become legal currency in El Salvador on 7 September, 2021
Bitcoin will officially become legal currency in El Salvador on 7 September, 2021 (AFP via Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A massive bitcoin price pump has been proposed by leading industry figures to celebrate El Salvador officially adopting the cryptocurrency as legal tender on 7 September.

Popular crypto forums on Reddit, as well as prominent Twitter accounts, have called on people to buy $30 of bitcoin to coincide with the Bitcoin Law coming into effect, which will see every citizen in El Salvador offered $30 in bitcoin through a specialised wallet app.

>> Follow all the latest crypto market updates with The Independent’s live blog

As part of the law, citizens of El Salvador will have access to $30 in bitcoin from the government through a specialised wallet app.

One popular post on the sub-Reddit r/Bitcoin called for a “Global Bitcoin Day” where people invest what they can in the cryptocurrency every year on 7 September.

“Let’s make September 7th Global Bitcoin Day! In support and celebration of BTC officially becoming legal tender in El Salvador we should mint this day as a day of support on an annual basis,” the post stated.

“The Reddit community alone can add billions of dollars to BTC’s market cap.”

Bitcoin crossed $50,000 over the weekend and has continued to rise at the start of the week – potentially in anticipation of the price pump.

Bitcoin’s notorious volatility makes any price prediction difficult but a similar phenomenon was seen in May when fans of dogecoin invested heavily in the meme-inspired cryptocurrency ahead of Elon Musk’s appearance on Saturday Night Live.

The SpaceX and Tesla boss was widely expected to make references to dogecoin and bring it to mainstream attention, with fans hoping it could hit $0.69 during his time hosting the show on 8 May.

Dogecoin’s price rose from around $0.25 in the weeks leading up to the date and hit the target during the broadcast before eventually peaking at $0.74. It has since crashed and is now trading at around $0.30.

Bitcoin remains a long way off its peak of $64,000, which it hit in mid April, however it has staged a remarkable recover in recent months.

( )

Some analysts believe bitcoin could see new record highs before the end of 2021, with some projections putting its price above $100,000 by Christmas.

Prominent figures supporting the latest price pump include Danny Scott, CEO of cryptocurrency exchange CoinCorner, and Michael Saylor, CEO of MicroStrategy.

MicroStrategy is the world’s biggest corporate investor in bitcoin, having recently added a further 4,000 bitcoins to its already considerable balance sheet. The software firm now holds nearly 109,000 bitcoins, worth more than $5.5 billion at today’s rates, and Mr Saylor has signalled that another purchase could happen on 7 September.

“Every cyber hornet I know is planning to buy $30 in BTC tomorrow in solidarity with the people of El Salvador,” he tweeted on Monday. “Will you join us?”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in